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TEXAS INVADES MEXICO aka Uncle Rogers Tour of Mexico

Day 5 Creel to Cerocahui

We think that he waterpump cover is fixed so Jeremy and Micah try it out. Low and Behold it works. It was hard work for all the guys that worked on it but it paid off. With teeds and Skinny taken care of we leave Creel. In my opinion this day would be the most fun ride of the trip.
Before we go Cesar makes arraingements for us to stay at another one of his hotels called the Wilderness Lodge he also tells us of a view that is just before you arrive in Diversidero on the way to the Lodge.
The view was easy to find as Mike was leading. When we turn off of the road we begin to climb until we find a closed fence we open it and keep heading up. We then realize that we are in the right spot. We come across some incredible views and a couple of log cabins that Indians are living in.

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Cesar said that from this view you can see where all 7 canyons come together. Because of the haze it is hard to tell from the pics but you can see all of the canyons.
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After we buy some bean necklaces from the Indians we leave and head on our way. Some of the next riding was on dirt through the woods that would make you believe that you were on R.L. Lemkes Fall Color Tour. You would never think you were in Mexico. This photo is a little difficult to see but there is a waterfall and a river in there.
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When we finally arrive at the Wilderness Lodge which is one of the Margaritas Hotel were are stunned. It is something that you must see in person. The photos were already posted but here they are again.

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The food cooked for us this night was the best of the trip.
 
Day 6 Cerocahui to Urique to Creel

We get up in the morning and are off by 8:00am. We head up through the woods for a while then suddenly the first view of the Urique Canyon.

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The trip down to Batopilas is beautiful but the trip to Urique is incredible. I enjoyed it much better because of the views and the trees that overhang the road.

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After arriving in Urique we ate breakfast and then rode through the town. Not much to see but it is much more advanced in my opinion than Batopilas. It is still a very neat small village. We then left and headed back to Creel. It was a good ride back.


Day 7 Creel to Presidio

We got a call from teeds who had made it back to Presidio and was waiting on us because he was Mike and Genes ride back to the DFW area. He said that he was watching the weather and saw that a severe winter storm was going to be moving through the area with sleet and snow. We decided that it would be best if we cut the trip a day short and head back to the border. It was an uneventful ride back.

All in All it was a great trip. Everything happens for a reason and Mike and Gene coming into our group made it a lot of fun. I had been to Moab with Gene in 2006 and had ridden in Broken Bow with Mike. Both of them turned out to be great riders that added a lot to the group.

Until next time!!!!!
 
I won’t further comment on the genesis of this expedition, since Teeds has done a thorough prologue.
On Day1, 13 of us left Ojinaga as a group and after several course corrections and a hare scrambles thru the road construction eventually found our way to Creel. Part of us arrived about 5:00 PM and the rest about 8:00. It was a hard 320 mile ride with a killer head wind from Cuahtemoc, and half-melted snow the last hour or so. The rest of the group hit the hotel about 8:00 PM even more tired & cold. They had gone back to find one of the group who had been delayed by a flat & a pinched tube on the repair. I crashed early and hoped Day2 would be a little more pleasant.

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Day 2 in front of the Hotel...that's snow and ice we're parked on

Day2 found us splitting into 2 groups which I will refer to as Group A (me and 5 others) and Group B (the remaining 7). Our paths would cross later in the day. After breakfast and a trip to the Pemex, we rode south for the turn-off. More snow and ice greeted us in the shady areas, but we made it to the dirt road and headed for the bottom of the canyon.. A short ride thru the trees and we reached the edge of La Bufa Canyon and started the 6000 ft. descent.

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We soon reached some of the scenic overlooks where you can see your road several thousand feet below as it hugs the canyon wall. This is what I came to see and it was every bit as spectacular as I had imagined.

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We caught up to a bull-dozer just before crossing the bridge at the bottom of the canyon and cheered the operator on as he creaked across the bridge.

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We stopped in La Bufa and took some photos on the tailings pile from one of the old mines, then continued on to Batopilas. We stopped at the big hotel east of town and waited for Teeds who was riding sweep. Steve and John decided to ride back and make sure he was Ok, so the rest of us rode on into the central plaza.
As I was parking along the curb my Husky suddenly died, and just like that, my trip was over. I spent the next 30 minutes checking everything and with a sinking feeling, finally admitted to myself that I was stranded.

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One dead Husky

As if that wasn’t enough of a downer, Teeds arrived to announce he had taken a low side and twisted his knee, which was rapidly getting worse. We checked into the Hotel Mary and discussed my predicament. After a beer or 2, John (who speaks some Spanish) and I tried to find someone to take me to Creel. We spoke with a local who said it was possible, but not tomorrow (which was Sunday). There wasn’t much else to do but eat supper and ponder just how long I might get to spend in sunny downtown Batopilas.
Since we had an odd number, I was rooming by myself, so after supper I headed there hoping for a hot shower anyway. After no luck getting any hot water, my mood was getting darker, and when the light bulb in the bathroom burned out, I climbed into bed cold and disgusted. As some of you know, a lot of the hotels in Mexico close and lock their gates after dark for security. This means if you want to talk to someone rooming there, you have to wake up the gate keeper. Apparently there are a lot of people in Batopilas who like to visit the Hotel Mary at 1or 2 in the morning, which requires copious amounts of knocking and banging and talking, etc. This, along with thoughts of how to get a dead motorcycle back to Texas, was hardly conducive to a restful night.
Day 3, the rest of Group A planned on going to Satevo and El Fuerte, so I would soon be on my own, but as I walked into Teeds room, even though he was already in his riding gear, it looked like he could barely put any weight on his bad knee and I suspected his ride was over. After John came in and agreed, Teeds decided that the prudent move would be to bail out with me. Since we had an unkown (to our group) route ahead and at best, someone would have to kick-start his XR650, He agreed. Although I was happy to have the company, I knew he was as disappointed as I had been when my ignition box took a dump.
After breakfast, we waved goodbye to the rest of Group A and set off for the central plaza to wait for the phone office to open. We had cell phone service in Creel, but down here, the only way to call out was thru a public phone office. We spotted 2 other riders whom we had met the day before and asked if anyone in their hotel spoke English, and one replied “yes, the couple who own the hotel speak English”
I found an elderly woman inside and explained our problem. She said her husband was just outside and stepped out to ask him if he could help. He began talking to the man next to him and immediately said “Yes, Arturo here can take you at 6:00 AM tomorrow” Our mood immediately improved and after a short conversation to make sure we all understood each other, Teeds and I had the rest of the day to sit in the sun, take pictures and enjoy Batopilas.

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Foot bridge from Batopilas

Local architecture
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A genuine Mexican Chihuahua

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Packed & ready to load

Day 4, Monday morning about 5:50 AM, our ride showed up, and after loading and a side trip to get gasoline from a local, we began the 3 hr drive out of the canyon. As a passenger, I was free to sit back and enjoy the ride out. I got a much better view of the scenery than on the ride in.

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As we neared the top we caught up with a local bus that had left about ½ hr. ahead of us. Just after passing the bus, as we came over a hill, we were greeted by a Federale check point. After ordering us out of the truck, one guy checked inside the cab as 2 more crawled in the bed and began going over our motorcycles. We must have looked un-worthy of a thorough search, as they skipped our gear bags and waved us on , and began another search on the bus behind us.

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snow on the road to Creel
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Another 30 miles of pavement and we were back in Creel at the Hotel Plaza Mexicana-Magarita. Group B had arrived in Batopilas Saturday and knew that Teeds and I were stranded. They had told our story to Cesar, the son of the Hotel owner, and he had called Batopilas earlier in the day to make sure that we had caught a ride out, and furthermore he was willing to take us all the way to Presidio. Cesar spoke English, so we had no problems getting a deal settled on, and once again, we could kick back and do the tourist thing.

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A relaxing afternoon sunning in the hotel court-yard

We spent Tuesday walking around Creel and after loading the motorcycles in Cesar’s pickup,prepared for a Wed. departure for the border.

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Group B at the bar up the street from the Hotel

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Group B getting info from Cesar (in cowboy hat) for the next day's ride

Day5, We got rolling about 10:30, and as we began the 6 hr drive to the border, got an excellent commentary from Cesar about the Creel area. He runs a local guide service from his hotel and was immensely helpful to 2 gringos who were in a bind. We hit Ojinaga about 4:30 and cleared U.S. customs with a minimum of fuss.

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Back at the motel in Presidio

By 5:00 we were un-loading at the 3 Palms in Presidio, and our Mexico adventure was over. We bid farewell to Cesar who was driving back to Creel that evening, and set about winding down with dinner and few beers. Later that night we would hear from John in Group A, who had thrown a chain which punched a hole in the crankcase. He was arriving in Chihuahua by train, with his crippled Yamaha on another train en-route to the border (he hoped)
Day6. I prepared for a short drive back to Odessa, while Teeds would remain another day or 2 waiting on some of Group B to ride back to DFW.

Although my motorcycle trip ended on Day 2, the rest of the trip was more than enjoyable and once the un-certainty of my situation resolved itself, I relaxed and had a great time. Since I only got a glimpse of the rest of the canyons, I’m already planning a return trip. Maybe next time we can skip the snow and cold weather, since I’m much happier when I’m warm.
 
mcrider said:
This says it all about your trip. Sorry to hear of ya'lls bad luck! :thumbd:

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Yes, I think we had just about solved the Iraq problem here, and where just about to move on to World Peace when we realized it was cervesa time. Teeds was a hoot, and we got to chill for a full day in Batopilas...
not a bad place to be....
 
Thursday - Austin to Presidio

4:30 and I'm up...right on time. For some reason when Steve, Tony and I get together for a ride, the wakeup time is usually around 4:00 am in the morning. This trip started no different. I quietly get the truck packed for the long ride to Presidio. I kiss the wife and kiddo and am on the rode by 5:30. The roads are a bit wet but clear up by the time a get Junction.

My phone rings about 7:30...

Steve: Hey buddy, where are you?
John: Just passed thru Junction.
Steve: Wow! I figured you'd be up. Ian and I are an hour ahead of you.

Steve and Ian took off the night before and stayed in Ozona for the night.

John: Okay, I'll see y'all in Presidio.

My phone rings right after I hang up with Steve...

Tony: Howdy! Where are you?
John: Just passed Junction. Where are you?
Tony: About 1/2 hour west of Sweetwater. You got up early.
John: The usual time.
Tony: 4:00 am?
John: Yep. On the road by 5:30. No traffic whatsoever...go figure? Hehehe.
Tony: Okay, we're about two hours behind you. See you in Presidio.
John: Okay, cheers.

I make record time...6 hours flat. I love driving thru west Texas. There's something special about the desert in the winter. Cold yet dry. Some spots green others brown. And the sky in the winter desert is clear and intensely blue. Before I know it, I'm in Presidio.

I meet most of the gang at the hotel and unpack and do a final prep on the bike. As Tony wrote, about 8 of us head for the border to finish up some paperwork. No one is at the office so I go hunting for someone. A couple minutes later an old guy comes to the desk and I already know we've got problems. I tell him we need tourist visas. He asks for when we are crossing. I tell him tomorrow. He says we need to come back. Right then I knew we had a flojo (lazy) on our hands and he didn't want to do the paperwork. It happens around quitting time...which it was. We head back to the hotel and decide to adjust the valves on Tony's bike. We'll come back at shift change, this time two at a time. As Ian and I walk to the office we see flojo heading the other way. GOOD! About 3 minutes later we have our visas and call the rest of the gang to head over.

That night we had dinner at the Three Palms restaraunt and tell stories. Everyone seems ready for the ride...except for Tony. He's got a LOT of gear to sort out. There's no way he can carry it all. I do some last minute gear organization. I planned on carrying my sleeping bag outside of the Wolfman bag. At the last minute I decided to put it inside and rearrange everything. This would come back to bite me as all the heavy stuff was on one side with a lightweight bag on the other. I really felt it in the twisties.
 
Friday - Presidio to Creel

The plan was to leave the hotel by 8:00 am. However, getting 13 folks pointed in the same direction is difficult. We had a few moments were car keys were misplaced, bikes wouldn't start and gear still needed to be packed and mounted on the bikes. I'm not sure when we finally rolled out but it was closer to 9:00.

First stop was gas where I filled up 3 885ml fuel bottles since my range is right at 130 miles. I also figured someone might need extra gas. Then we hit the money exchange.

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After we left I was looking for the toll road to Chihuahua. Now, Mexico names the toll road and free roads the same...that wasn't the problem...the construction was. The roads were all torn up and signs were no where to be found. So I put faith in the GPS and tried to get back on track. After a couple of u-turns I asked a local and she pointed me in the original direction.

We ended up on toll road 67 which does a big dog-leg to Chihuahua. It was a fairly new road but wasn't the one I wanted. No sweat I thought but now we really need to have the range since there is nothing...I mean nothing for 135 miles.

Like folks said, keeping track of 13 bikes is tough...even tougher when the bikes all have different cruising speeds. I set a comfortable 60 mph figuring everyone could keep up and we wouldn't be burning thru gas going any faster. I later found out that Gene couldn't keep up. We stopped at the crossroad of 67 and 16 to wait up for everyone. Some folks were already on reserve and we still had about 20 miles before gas. This will be interesting. People started stopping on the side of the road obviously out of gas or needing to put on reserve. Ian and I continued figuring that we'll get as far as I can, fill up and bring gas to whoever needs it. We pull into Aldama and they only have magna which is 87 octane or less. I ask if there's another station with premium. It's only a few kilometers away. I've been on reserve for a long time...not sure if I'll make it and I've got 140 miles on the trip. Sure enough about 50 feet from the station I run out. Ian goes by and I grab his bag and he tows me the rest of the way. We head back and find some of the guys waiting at a little square.

After everyone regroups, off we go to Chihuahua about 30K away. We get almost all the way thru town (1 million people) but get a bit lost less than a mile from the other side. A few u-turns, one way streets and everyone got separated. I pull up to a park and ask a local while some of the guys backtrack to find the rest of the gang. He speaks pretty good english and says we've only got a few turn before we're out of town and back on 16. Everyone is gathered and we head off.

After we get out of town I find a little road side eatery where we get lunch. I only stop at road side joints if I see locals eating there. This one had a few and the tacos were excellent. So was the scenery. A few local honey's were putting on a nice little dance show for us.

Problem #1. As we gear back up, I notice Tony having trouble starting his bike so I wait. He get it started and we head out. About 1/2 kilometer later I get a rear flat. Dang it!! No problem, I've got a spare tube but as I'm waving Tony doesn't see me and heads off. No problem I thought, I've changed plenty of tubes on my own. I roll the bike down an embankment and begin the process of removing gear and getting the back wheel off. I locate the problem. A huge roofing nail. I pull it out with my Leatherman. Slime is all over the tire and wheel making things rather sticky and difficult. I get the tube out and put the new in. By this time the slime is really sticky and I'm having all sorts of trouble getting the Maxxis IT back on. Sure enough, I pinch the tube. Now I'm screwed. I passed a Pemex about a 1/4 K back so I load up the bike and push. I get to the Pemex station and they tell me there is a tire repair another 1/4 K down the road. So I push the bike another 1/4. I'm wiped out. Pushing a bike with a flat is hard enough...pushing a bike with 25 lbs of gear on the back makes it down right tough. I get to the shop and go thru the process again.

By this time Mike shows up. We clean the slime of the wheel and tire, patch the first bad tube and dump the pinched tube that now has the valve ripped out from me pushing the bike. Even with the wheel and tire lubed, the Maxxis is still putting up a fight but I managed to get it mounted without pinching the tube this time. Remount the wheel, gear and off we go. One thing I've got to add to my checklist is a small can of WD-40 for tire lube if I'm going to run slime.

Now for problem #2. By this time Tim, Micah, and Tony arrive. The bike will not go more than 30mph. What's going on now? Is my ride over? I tell Mike what's going on. Maybe the plug got fouled. So....again...off comes the gear. Mike and I pull the plug and it looks great. Let's change it anyway. Go for a test ride and same results. Hmmm...maybe bad gas. Okay lets check. I take the carb drain plug off and I find it FULL of sand!! How the @#$@ did all this sand get in here? Clean the sand out of the carb drain, take the filter skin off for good measure and go for a test ride. Success!! I'm back in business. 2 1/2 hours have gone by. We are getting to Creel in the dark...and there's ice on the road!!

Luckily we all arrive safely and meet the rest of the crew for dinner.

I figure I'm having all these problems now because the last time I went on a long adventure ride I didn't have one problem covering over 9700 miles. Now they are creeping up on me. I figured I made it thru the worse...what else could go wrong?
 
Day Two (continued)

We all change and wander down to and across the suspension bridge over the river.

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On the far side, we intend to pass out the candy we have brought with us to the kids running about.

At first they hide, but soon they come out of the woodwork and we are soon out of goodies.

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Coming back from the house above ...

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Looking inside the Ford remains, we found it in use ...

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Wandering back on the path, I am now going downhill and my knee is complaining more than a bit.

I need to quit complaining about my house ...

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The kitchen window and shelf ... all combined into one ...

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Their grinder

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The little girl had a doll ... sweet ... I like the plants on the windows also

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Their neighbor

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Under construction ... we’ll just incorporate the boulder, rather than move it ...

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I like the way they key the concrete pours together ...

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Ray slows down to hang with me as we photograph the balance of the crew on the bridge over the river.

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Looking back at the house under construction from the bridge

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The afternoon is spent wandering about and hanging out in the sun at the plaza.

As I mentioned above, we procured rooms at Hotel Mary. Just off the plaza, the rooms were clean and affordable. Two hundred pesos per night, for a room with two double beds. No heat, but they do have hot water and there must have been 25 pounds of blankets on the beds. I’m not exactly sure, but I may have encountered a few bedbugs while there, as I ended up with some unexplainable bug bites. No biggie really, just a few. I would recommend Hotel Mary as a good place to stay, but we encountered a couple that spoke English, which made it a bit easier on us gringos, but that is in tomorrow’s info ... soon ...

The local “City Hall”

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John began scouting the town for a ride for Skinny and soon had one fellow that promised to take him to Creel on Monday for $20. Skinny promised to throw some real money at the fellow for a ride on Sunday, but the fellow balked at the offer. Something told me that he would not work out in any case.

Spying familiar bikes down the calle adjacent to Hotel Mary, we drifted that way.

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The entrance to the El Zaguán Restaurante and Bar ... cold beer ... ★★★

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Just as we got there, the sweep riders emerged after downing a few ...

Tim

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Mike

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We took over and took up residence on the wall overlooking the rio, after scooping out the place ...

La cocina

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Water supply ...

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Bill, me, John, Skinny, Ray, Ian and Steve

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They has dark beer, sorry for the focus ... or lack thereof ... this one is for Gaspipe ...

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Sunset looking down the rio

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Dinner is at La Nevada.

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Reviews varied, but I liked my chicken. They have Texas Size Roadie Beer here too and no paper sack is needed.

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Ian’s dinner ... sorry I forgot what it was.

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A night shot ...

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Good photo of Bill

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Lights out ...

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Day Three soon ...

Stop Laughing!!
 
So how many miles did the end group cover? Did ya'll make a map?
 
thumper said:
So how many miles did the end group cover? Did ya'll make a map?

The GPS on Willsy's bike recorded 1694 miles when he and I rode back to Presidio from Van Horn.
Basebill and Hoop took the highway back and I think that's a little more mileage.

I have GPS tracks for our route which I'll post when I get a chance.

In general we were able to follow the route we had hoped to take, but not on the schedule we had hoped for.
The trails we followed turned out to be much more demanding than we had anticipated in many cases.
Some days we were only able to average 17 mph and we rode for over 10 hours.
Some proposed trails turned out to have been abandoned many years ago and were impassable due to fallen trees.
Some trails were impassable because of snow and ice.
We did enjoy a few hours at the beach on the Sea of Cortez as well as a great seafood lunch.
Some of the riding fell into the category of "as tough as I've ever done"
A lot of the ride fell into the category of "I've never ridden anything that tough for such a long way".
Racing the Baja 1000 was easier!!!!

All in all I hope everyone enjoyed their trip. Skinny and irondawg's bikes can be fixed.....Teed's knee should be OK....The water pump fix on Micah's bike was a masterpiece....I learned how to use my GPS to navigate....Luggage racks are still the weak link.....Wolfman luggage rocks!!!!




Next time we go we'll all know what to expect.
 
Day Three - Sunday
January 7, 2007

Sunday dawns early and I had made two trips to the baño, so I am well aware how weak my knee is long before I attempt to get my riding gear on. The knee actually felt better with the Asterisk brace on it and I was somewhat encouraged. Even with the brace, the balance of the gear became a challenge. Once dressed, I was faced with the reality that the knee would only bend about 80 degrees and it needed to bend at least 110, maybe 120, degrees to be able to get my foot back far enough for the peg. The light was on, but it is only 7.5 watt, and I was desperate to ignore it, in any case.

Intervention Number Three

This intervention proved to be a bummer for me, although I already knew the answer. Both Skinny and John pressured me to stop and not go on towards El Fuerte. As I said, I already knew the answer, so I decided to stop. Bummer, but at least I had Skinny to hang with, as we figured out how to get back to Presidio with our bikes.

OK, now the light was a spotlight ...

Two gringos, ten~twelve good words of Spanish between us beyond the common phrases and one UNIQUE accent. I will long remember the way Skinny says por favor.

Coming to the reality at hand let more than a little pressure off of my shoulders. I had been fighting life, actually beating on it to pound it into submission and go on this trip. Life had hit me back, first with the ear infection and now the knee.

The pressure was off ... anyone got a cold beer? Well, it was a bit early for beer, but not too late for breakfast, so breakfast it was.

Laughter returned, as is often the case, when life wins and I swallow and accept the results.

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After breakfast, as Steve, John, Bill, Ian and Hoop wrapped up packing, the sweep riders passed by, heading south to Satevo and Barranca de Batopilas. One of the sights I really wanted to see and now 6 Km might as well be 600 miles as it would be too far to attempt. In reflection, I guess I could have hired a driver, but that seemed so lame ... wait a minute ... I was lame ...

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Breakfast was back at the Restaurant 5o Patio. Across the calle from the bar of last night, it seemed to be the only restaurant open on Sunday morning.

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They had hotcakes ... sorry, no photos, but ... ★★★

Soon Steve and the gang were off south towards El Fuerte and Batopilas sank into the quiet of the Sunday morning. Interrupted only by the sounds of the church bells, children’s laughter and the occasional vehicle, Skinny and I enjoyed the sunshine in the plaza while updating our journals. My journal was taking on the tone of a soap opera.

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Round and round she went

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She got tired and grabbed a spot next to dad ...

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With info updated, we returned to the room and I got out of my ride gear and into jeans that I had brought. Off came the brace, only to be replaced by the ACE bandage I had purchased on the spur of the moment for the trip. God has a way of taking are of fools and little children. I still don’t know which I am, but I was guided to toss that bandage in the basket at Albertson’s a few weeks earlier. I’m now glad I listened.

Stop Laughing!!

Day Three (to be continued soon)
 
According to my GPS we accended about 90,000 feet in about 8 days.

Mike Green
 
Last edited:
billyji said:
According to my GPS we accended about 90,000 feet in about 8 days.

We let Willsy keep our overall records and we discovered an interesting thing...The GPS record goes to 100,000 feet and then just quits!!!
After that it just shows a series of dashes.

Can't you do something about our weather Mike?????
 
Teeds said:
Day Three - Sunday
January 7, 2007

Two gringos, ten~twelve good words of Spanish between us beyond the common phrases and one UNIQUE accent. I will long remember the way Skinny says por favor.



I told y'all if you hung with me, I'd teach you how to talk real Texan...:mrgreen: However, Spanish would have been a lot more useful...:trust:
 
XR650Rocketman said:
Some of the riding fell into the category of "as tough as I've ever done"
A lot of the ride fell into the category of "I've never ridden anything that tough for such a long way".
Racing the Baja 1000 was easier!!!!

Next time we go we'll all know what to expect.

That says alot!It must have been a real challenge [10 on the adventure factor]. It'll be good to checkout the map against the pics [terrain and altitude/snow].

I'm curious about the jetting problems. Seems like some had major problems and others had none. I always thought stock was good to 6000' and even slightly rich died way before that.
 
sorry I'm running several days behind, but I have a couple of points to make:

1. I had to pass the Nissan (in the ice coming into Creel after dark). I think he was tired of us following him and was slowing down more and more until we passed.

2. The GPS route from OJ to Chihuahua on the GPS followed the libre (free) road, not the toll road. That's why we were off the route after the turn for the toll road in OJ. We took the free road coming back and were on the GPS route all the way to and through OJ.

I appreciate the reports. I'm wondering if Bill or Ian or John will post more about the ride after we lost Tony and Skinny. If not, I'll get to it this weekend, and also post some of my pics.
 
XR650Rocketman said:
We let Willsy keep our overall records and we discovered an interesting thing...The GPS record goes to 100,000 feet and then just quits!!!
After that it just shows a series of dashes.

Can't you do something about our weather Mike?????

Man you are getting hammered !!!!!!!!!!

I cancelled everyone of my flights from Chicago and Dallas to Austin today.. I hope you trees make through the storm

interesting on the 100,000 feet. Its hard to imagine

Mike Green
 
This Entire Post is an Aside

The following shots are some of the sights in Batopilas ... as an Architect, I could not resist ...

Enjoy or skip on to the continuation of Day Three below ...

Warning - My passion for historical preservation is coming out!

It is said that architecture is frozen music. If that is the case, Batopilas is a symphony. As I mentioned earlier, I have “heard” that the town fathers have seen fit to require new structures to be “historic” in appearance. Bravo! Architects are guilty of the ubiquitous (Steve loves it when I work in that word) crap that assaults our senses on a daily basis. Here is a town that all members of the symphony are in tune.

In the high tech world we live in, many do not understand the high touch world we yearn for. Almost by accident of geographical location and absence of development pressure, Batopilas has maintained, and strengthened, the connection between the old and new world.

¡Salud!

An Editorial - Why do we like motorcycles?

I submit that we like bikes because of the immediate, and direct, connection with the sensory enriched, high touch, world around us. When I am on my bike, I am alive ... ALIVE!

Hermetically sealed, life has become detached modernism, shrink wrapped to prevent theft. Theft of what? Reality? Modern life has become but an imitation of reality. We all yearn for roots.

Motorcycling reconnects us to the barbarism of our past. The risk, the reward, the thrill, the danger lurk at every corner. In a blink of an eye, one wrong move, and we are granted entry into eternity and exit from this world. Dancing on the edge of the sword, in fear of that transition, we find life.

I am never more alive than when I feel the sphincter tighten ... oops, this is beyond my bubble, over the fence, so to speak. Once survived, my boundaries expand. I lengthen my view, expand my horizons.

Nothing competes with cheating death and finding life in the process.

Some call us crazy. I submit we are the definition of sanity.

Back to the aside ...

The local Catholic Church

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Surrounding the plaza

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About town

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I will spare everyone the pleasure of the many, Many, MANY, MANY photos I took of Batopilas, but for those interested, all can be found in my Smugmug Account

Enjoy and celebrate life, because it is within that celebration that we are most alive.
 
thumper said:
I'm curious about the jetting problems. Seems like some had major problems and others had none. I always thought stock was good to 6000' and even slightly rich died way before that.

Our XR650Rs were running a 172 main and we had no problems at all, even running the 87 or less octane gas.
We went all the way from sea level to 8800 feet. We were running rich up there for sure but they still ran smoothly enough. We did change our filter skins often to get as much air in as possible.

The DRZs ran great also.....Maybe basebill or willsy can let us know what jets they were running.
 
Teeds--beautiful photos. Haave not visited Batopilas. When I did moto to Creel in '95, the town was uglier than a mud fence!
 
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